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One world- 7 billion unique stories

This year humanity is reaching a historical
milestone. Before the year is finished, 7 billion human beings will be sharing this
earth. On the 11 July, World Population Day, we should all as individuals stop
for a moment and think about the significance of this remarkable fact.

The number 7 billion is a call for
celebration. Human beings are living longer, more prosperous lives now than
ever before. Globally, the average life expectancy during the years 2005-2010 reached
an unprecedented high of 68 years. Compare this to the average life expectancy
of 8 years in the years 1945-1950.

However, we all know that the world faces
many problems connected to our ever increasing numbers. Even as the number of
hungry people in the world as a proportion of the global population has fallen
since 1990, the absolute number has increased from 815 million to 925 million
due to global population growth. The world’s environmental resources are
increasingly being exhausted. Some of our most basic needs are therefore not
met: worldwide about 884 million people have no access to safe drinking water.
Moreover, 17,000 known species of plants and animals are in danger of extinction
because of habitat loss, invasive species, high consumption rates, pollution
and climate change.

Population growth also fuels inequality. In
the area of health, huge achievements have been accomplished in the past
decades, but many of the gains have favoured the very wealthy, while the very
poor suffer from easily remedied ailments and diseases. And inequality
continues to increase: according to the World Bank, the poorest 20 per cent of
the world population only receives 1.5 percent of all income, while the richest
20 percent enjoys 77 percent of all income.

Many people are now facing up to the
challenges of a population of 7 billion, but many are deprived of the
possibility to do so. About 215 million women in the developing world would
want family planning, but are unable to get it. It is estimated that this unmet
demand for contraception is responsible for 82 percent of all unintended
pregnancies globally. At the same time international
assistance for family planning has fallen to US$400 million per year worldwide,
after a historical high of $700 million in 2002.

Even though the problems are numerous, there
are more people today to address them, and thanks to the communications
revolution we have an unprecedented capacity to understand and face those
challenges. Never before have there been so many young people in the world,
more than 1.2 billion adolescents worldwide, and the future lies in their
hands. In an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, we have come to
realize that our successes and troubles must be shared with the whole world. A
child in Sub-Saharan Africa who has lost her parents to HIV/AIDS, a man who
lost his home to the devastating Tsunami in Japan and a woman in North America
subject to domestic violence, the problems facing these people are not theirs
alone, but affect all of us directly or indirectly. Now, 7 billion strong, humanity
has an unprecedented opportunity to create shared solutions.

The Brussels based United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe - UNRIC provides information on UN activities to the countries of the region. It also provides liaison with institutions of the European Union in the field of information. Its outreach activities extend to all segments of society and joint campaigns, projects and events are organized with partners including the EU, governments, the media, NGOs, schools and local authorities.